Torrian Wilson came to UCF with no promises, but has shown great potential at left tackle

The redshirt sophomore offensive lineman has become a consistent performer for the Knights this season

December 16, 2012|By Paul Tenorio, Orlando Sentinel

There were no promises when Torrian Wilson flipped to UCF on National Signing Day in 2010.

Knights coach George O'Leary told Wilson he would play if he was good enough and sit if he wasn't. That honesty is what sold Wilson, he said. The four-star offensive line recruit didn't want anything handed to him.

"That really hit me," Wilson said of O'Leary's blunt recruiting pitch. "A lot of coaches just tell you what they want you to hear, and he didn't do that with me."

During the past two years with the Knights, Wilson has been on the field far more often than he's been off it. He played in 11 games as a redshirt freshman a year ago, starting four at left tackle. He has been a stalwart on the line this year, protecting quarterback Blake Bortles' blind side.

The position is a glorified one now, made famous by a Hollywood movie and Pro Bowl players who have earned monster contracts, but Wilson's consistency this season proves why there is such value placed on a left tackle. His play has created a sense of security for UCF, and Wilson, a second-team All-Conference USA selection, still has the next two years to develop.

"He is really starting to come into his own as a football player," UCF offensive line coach Brent Key said. ". . . [He] has improved from the beginning of the season — really the beginning of spring ball — to now, not just understanding what he does but understanding what the person next to him does in the big picture, the big scheme of things. Really, he's made a lot of improvement. He's got the ability to be a really, really good football player."

UCF will need a strong performance from Wilson when the Knights face Ball State in the Beef `O' Brady's Bowl at St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field Friday. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

This season has been an imperfect one for the Knights' offensive line. The ebbs and flows were evident, especially toward the back end of the year, when a string of strong performances were followed by struggles at UTEP and Tulsa in the final weeks of the regular season.

UCF struggled to run the ball in each of those games, and Bortles was sacked seven times.

In the weeks after the UTEP and Tulsa games, Wilson was especially critical of his own performance. Asked about the unit's struggles, Wilson would often start an answer and then stop to add a criticism of his own fundamentals. His footwork wasn't good enough, he would say. He needs to be more sound.

The 6-foot-4, 306-pound redshirt sophomore was always the biggest kid in his class. He sprouted up, especially as he entered high school, and the next few years Wilson spent growing into his own body. This year, Wilson said he was growing less into his frame and more into the mental demands of his position.

"I just started understanding the game more," Wilson said. "I think that's what it was. Watching film with Coach Key more, watching film with [Jordan] Rae, Theo [Goins], the older guys. And the little things I wasn't paying attention to at the beginning, I started paying attention to it more and started taking that extra film time to really watch my opponent."

That recognition, Key said, was key to the maturity Wilson showed this season. There was an understanding not just of his own role, but also how it affected the player next to him and the others down the line. That led to a noticeable difference in Wilson's effectiveness.

"He was, over the last six games of the season, the most consistent performer on the offensive line," Key said.